


A little more complicated then you might think

by NixiaFormer556



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 08:25:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6072121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NixiaFormer556/pseuds/NixiaFormer556
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roman and Royal are a pair of homeless teens just trying to make it by on the streets of New York. As a team of two, these siblings unknowingly pickpocket a very powerful demigod (or try to, anyway). Meanwhile, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace have offered to accompany a newly licensed satyr to pick up a new half-blood. Little do they know, the half-blood and his sister will find them first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A little more complicated then you might think

Nico

Nico di Angelo chuckled and gave his boyfriend a light hearted shove; Will’s puns were getting ridiculous. He wrapped his hand around the blonde’s and hummed contentedly. This assist wasn’t going as badly as he had first thought it would. Devon was a friend of his, a satyr that had just gotten his Protector’s License. He and Will had promised to make sure he brought back the new camper safely.  
His contentedness was cut short when he glimpsed a hooded figure appear out of nowhere and shove into him. The figure slipped a hand into his pocket as he shouldered his way past him.  
Nico’s battle honed reflexes kicked in as the stranger’s hand left his pocket. With a swift twist, Nico caught his wrist and tugged it up behind his back, wrapping his other arm around his throat,  
“Give. It. Back.” Nico’s clipped words dripped with malice as Will muttered,  
“Nico!”  
The stranger struggled for breath and grappled at Nico’s arm.  
“ROMAN!!” Nico’s grip loosened with shock and Will whipped around to find the girl that belonged to that voice. Nico barely heard the tap-tap-tap of running feet before something heavy slammed into his temple and he saw stars. He blinked galaxies out of his line of sight as Will pulled him to his feet,  
“Are you okay?!?” He shrugged of the son of Apollo, looking around for the stranger and his accomplice. He spotted the boy’s dark, velvet red jacket and locked eyes with the girl as she glanced backwards. They had to be siblings, with their short, dirty blonde hair and golden brown eyes.

Royal

Royal finally skidded to a stop three blocks down in an alleyway next to some sort of fancy restaurant, bent double and gasping for breath,  
“Who was that guy? Some sort of Judo Champion?” Her brother, Roman, just shook his head helplessly, coughing and rubbing at his throat. He sucked in a breath and straightened, signing with his hands, -Maybe he was a monster?- Royal nodded along,  
“Could be, but he didn’t look like one. Did you get his wallet?” Roman nodded and pulled it out of his pocket, rifling through it to reveal a black credit card and a twenty. No ID, no gift cards. “Huh, that’s weird, is that, like, a rich kid card? The one that never runs out of money?” Roman just shrugged and stuffed it back into the wallet, passing her the twenty. “Alright! Well bro,” she grinned at him. “What colour do you want next? I think you’re running low on blue, but we can get yellow if you want.”  
This was what they did with most of the money they pickpocketed; Royal would distract the local supply store cashier and Roman would pick the lock on the Spray Paint case. They usually made off with at least two colours, and whatever Royal bought to distract the cashier with.  
Roman was shaking his head, signing to her with his hands almost erratically.  
“A shirt?” Royal glanced down at the ace bandages wrapped tightly around her chest, “No, Roman, you first. I’m fine, besides,” she smirked. “I look cooler this way.”  
Roman started to sign again, but both of them had to look over when the boy they pickpocketed earlier stepped out of the shadows, almost like magic.  
“Run!” Royal cried, grabbing her brother by the wrist and pulling him out of the alleyway, only to be stopped by a taller blonde boy,  
“Look,” he started, but the siblings didn’t give him time to finish. Royal snapped out a switchblade and lunged, surprised when he lept back just in time. Roman bumped into her as he stumbled backwards, trying to get a can of black paint out of the pocket of his cargo pants. Royal put a hand on his head and pushed him down, taking the punch that was meant for him. As she went down, Roman came back up baring his teeth, spraying in an arc. The already dark boy caught it in the face, crying out and rubbing at his eyes.  
Royal screamed when a pair of tanned arms wrapped her in a bear hug, a hand coming up to cover her mouth,  
“SShh! We’re here to help! We’re not monsters!” At the word “monster”, Royal went still. Could he see them too? The boy’s grip loosened and she tensed, ready to run, but the dark boy rose from the darkness behind Roman and snaked his arms around and up, capturing him in a full Nelson. The side of his face was dripping black paint, making it seem like he dined on the souls of demons for supper.  
Royal whimpered against the hand at her face and went rag-doll-limp in her captor’s arms. She locked eyes with her brother and shook her head as much as she could. Roman got the message and went limp as well. Paint boy spat the black liquid out of his mouth and said,  
“Now that we have your attention, I would like my wallet back please.” He made eye contact with Royal and her brows furrowed, she hated him. With all of her being. She glanced at her brother’s jacket pocket and watched as he shifted, keeping Roman fully incapacitated, and reclaimed his wallet. “My name is Nico. That’s Will,” he nodded to the blonde behind me. “This is going to sound really weird, but our friend told us that you aren’t human.” Royal glared at him. He glared right back, “We aren’t human either.” Royal tried to keep the shock from showing on her face, but couldn’t help making eye contact with her brother. Should they run? Or hear them out?  
Roman cocked an eyebrow and rolled his eyes, He wanted to see what they had to say, just for the hell of it. She gave him an understanding blink, and tapped Will on the wrist. He released his hold on her mouth,  
“If you’re not human, then what are you exactly?” She kept her tone clipped and cold. Nico opened his mouth, but glanced up as a boy ran past. He skidded to a stop just as he passed the alleyway, turning and jogging into it to where the four teens were gathered,  
“Nico,” he gasped out. “For Pan’s sake, don’t just shadow travel off like that, I had no idea where you were! I had to follow your scent!” Royal sighed and said,  
“We’re not going anywhere…” Will started and released her,  
“Sorry,” he scratched the back of his head and his ears turned pink. Nico slipped away from Roman, who collapsed. Royal lunged forward and helped him to his feet,  
“You okay?” He nodded and signed, -Who’s he?- Royal turned on the newcomer, “Yeah, who are you?” The boy jumped and stuttered out,  
“I-I’m Devon. Licensed Protector.” Royal raised an eyebrow at him. Nico stepped forward to fill in,  
“He’s qualified to search for demigods and bring them to camp.” His gaze flicked between the siblings, “He was searching for you.”  
“Us? Wait, what? What’s a demigod?” Royal gripped her brother’s hand tightly, but glanced down when he pulled away. -Well, demi means half, so it must mean half god.-  
“Half god? Like angels?”  
Nico shook his head, “Like the Greek Gods. It’s a little complicated, but when your godly parent claims you-” He stopped and smiled at the sudden glow that seemed to come from behind Roman and Royal. She glanced backwards, and then up. She couldn’t be 100% sure, but it looked like a staff, with two snakes on it. She whipped back around when Will said,  
“Hermes. It makes sense.”  
“What-”  
“Great!” Devon clapped his hands and glanced around nervously, “Can we get them to camp now?”  
“Wait! What camp?!? What’s a Hermes? We don’t even know you!” All three boys turned to look at Royal, standing protectively in front of her brother. Will didn’t hesitate,  
“Well, I’m Will, this is Nico, and Devon. Who are you?” Royal blinked before saying slowly,  
“I’m Royal, and he’s Roman.”  
Nico frowned at that,  
“If he was roman, he would be at Camp Jupiter by now.” Royal growled at him,  
“Roman is his name, nimrod!” Will giggled behind him, winding his fingers around the darker boy’s. Nico rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath.  
Everyone jumped when Devon yelped,  
“Guys, I smell monster, we have to go! Now!” Nico jumped into action,  
“Will, if you would just let me-”  
“No! You almost died last time!”  
“Last time was months ago!”  
Out of nowhere, Nico growled and pulled out a long, black sword. “Take them over the wall then! I’ll find you guys after I take care of the monster.” He took up a stance at the mouth of the alleyway and held it. Will rushed toward Royal,  
“Follow me!” Royal just scoffed,  
“We know these streets better than you know your boyfriend, follow me.” Will flushed, but changed direction, running after her. Devon shouted,  
“But that’s a crowded building, we’ll get trapped!”  
Royal threw her head back and laughed, throwing open the door,  
“Ro, take them back to our place! I’ll meet you there!” He nodded and touched his two middle fingers to the palm of his hand. “I love you too, now go!” She didn’t wait to see them the dash through the side door. She exploded into the kitchen, scaring everyone within eyesight. She let out a wicked laugh and vaulted onto the counter,  
“Oh, Cook!” She crooned. “Guess who's back, baby!” A roar sounded from the back of the kitchen,  
“CATCH HER!” Three cooks lunged for her at the same time, knocking heads when she jumped away and dashed through the steel and chrome maze.  
This was supposed to be serious, but she couldn’t hold back a giggle as the fat, beet red cook bounced his way out of the back storage room,  
“GET BACK HERE YOU HEATHEN!!” She barked out a laugh and sprinted for the swinging double doors, ducking underneath a waiter’s serving tray, sliding under a pristine tablecloth, and weaving her way in between tables in a mad scramble for the door. When she burst out onto the street, she ran straight into the valet, who dropped the keys he was holding into a grate. Cackling and shoving through the posh, well-off, she scanned the skyline.  
She spotted the pointed steeples of the Catholic church, and cut through another alleyway to get to it. Panting, she jogged up the rotting wooden steps, and pushed open the creaky doors,  
“Honey, I’m home!” Her call echoed throughout the abandoned holy place, beckoning to her silent brother. A relieved Devon poked his head out of the Confessional,  
“Oh! Royal’s here!” Will stepped out next,  
“Hey! Thank the gods you’re back, neither of us can understand ASL.” Royal chuckled darkly,  
“I’m coming, Roman.” When she stepped into their little hideaway, she frowned at Roman, who was sitting cross legged in a pile of his stuff. “What are you doing?”  
She watched as he signed, -I want to go with them. They say they can tell us who we really are, who are father is.-  
“Well,” she sighed. “I’m coming too, then.” She plopped down and pulled her duffle bag away from the wall.  
“So…” Will’s musical voice cut through the silence. “Are you guys coming to camp? I’m gonna assume yes, but it’s polite to ask.” Roman glanced up and nodded. “Oh! Great! Would you like any help?” Roman hesitated and glanced at Royal. She nodded and stood,  
“We’ve got some stuff up in the bell tower, come on.” Roman picked up his bag and followed his sister out. Will jogged after them,  
“So, you guys live here? It’s neat! I mean, it’s abandoned, and most people like to make up ghost stories about places like this, so no one comes around, right?” Royal nodded, opening the door to the stairwell,  
“We’ve been to orphanages, but we always come back here. It’s quiet here.” She paused for a moment, “And there’s this guy that lives around here, I don’t know him, but he always leaves, like, food and ones and stuff in the offering box. We’ve seen him do it.” She shrugged and kept climbing. Will nodded thoughtfully. Then he brightened,  
“Why don’t you talk, Roman?” The boy froze, mid step, and stared wide-eyed at nothing. Royal knew what he was seeing, what he was remembering. She had been there too. Royal glared at the taller blonde, stepping forward to guide her brother to a sitting position,  
“A bit rude to ask, don’tcha think?” Will immediately looked ashamed of himself, stepping forward,  
“Oh, Styx, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be insensitive. We can just forget I said anything, alright?” Roman clenched his fists and screwed his eyes shut, shivering. He sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out, loosening all of his tight muscles. Royal kissed his temple and stood,  
“Let’s just go get our stuff.”  
The trap door slammed into the hardwood as Royal shoved it open. She smirked when Will gasped, striding to the center of the room. Will took his time, gazing, open mouthed at all of Roman’s artwork spread gracefully across the walls and columns. Roman held his bag open as Royal layered his paint into it. She made sure to colour code it, and topped it all off with his smaller tools. They stood and Roman shouldered the bag, ready to go back downstairs, but Will was still staring in awe,  
“Roman, did you do all this?” The mute boy flushed, but nodded. “This is incredible! That waterfall looks so real, I could jump through the wall and into the pool! And this planet! How did you make those colours?!?” Roman scuffed his feet, his blush spreading to his ears.  
“Come on, we need to get finished,” Royal smiled, lacing her fingers with her brother’s. When they came back into the sanctuary, Nico had arrived, with a cut on his arm and sweat on his brow.  
“Nico!” Will shot forward, “What did you do this time? I swear, you’ll be the death of me one day!” Nico flicked him on the forehead,  
“That one was even worse than the sunburn one,” He grumbled happily. Royal shook her head and continued on to the Confessional, dragging Roman along with her.  
Devon was seated awkwardly on a blanket spread across the floor,  
“So, you guys knocked out the divider, what did you do with it?”  
Royal smiled at him,  
“We broke it up, and we use it for firewood.” He nodded, still looking awkward. She ignored him and stuffed her bag with all of her belongings and some of Roman’s. Devon followed them out, wringing his hands together. When they rejoined Nico and Will, Will was frowning at the dark boy,  
“I don’t have to like it, you know.” Nico said nothing, but his triumphant smirk spoke volumes,  
“Everyone hold hands.” When Royal hesitated, Nico added, “It’s okay, I’m gay.” While Will giggled at the involuntary rhyme, Royal closed the circle. With a sudden chill, they all fell through the shadows on the floor.  
Royal gasped as she hit grass and fell to her knees. Her eyes watered, but she blinked the tears away,  
“Roman!” Her brother’s hand found hers and she calmed slightly. Will helped her to her feet as the water left her eyes. She stared in disbelief at the sprawling hills and fruit fields. Her gaze found a large cluster of cabins, with a bigger one overlooking them all. A twinkling blue lake rang with the sound of laughter, and teenagers were playing basketball at one of the two courts.  
“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood,” Will said, smiling at the sibling duo. Devon groaned as he stood up,  
“I don't think I'll ever get used to that…”  
Nico waited for his companions to come back to their senses, before leading them down the hill and across the green. “Camp isn't all crafts and canoe races,” Nico was saying. “This is a place where children of the Greek gods can live and learn to survive. When we get to the Big House, I'll show you the orientation video.”  
“Orientation video?” Royal asked, a little star struck. Roman looked excited, turning in circles to try and see everything. He jumped when a large blond boy with glasses shouted,  
“Nico!” He came running and Royal saw Nico sigh and turn with a smile,  
“Jason.” He dodged a hug and pulled Royal forward, “This is Royal, she and her brother are children of Hermes.” Jason smiled and shook her hand, “Welcome to Camp! I'm Jason, a son of the Roman deity Jupiter, and this,” he motioned to a pretty native american girl that came up behind him. “This is my girlfriend, Piper.” Piper smiled,  
“Hello!” Royal stared, dumbfounded. Do they seem a little over excited to you? Roman signed to her. Royal nodded and her hand hovered over her jacket pocket. Piper frowned before signing back to them, -We’re just happy that you two made it here alive.-  
Roman’s ever active hands fell limp and Royal’s jaw hit bedrock. “W-what do you mean, alive,” Royal whispered, stunned.  
Piper answered with her voice and her hands, “A lot of demigods are chased through all of New York by monsters before their searchers find them. Some don't make it.”  
Royal nodded slowly, before sitting down heavily, “I- I think I'm just gonna wake up now. This dream is officially the weirdest one I have ever had.”  
Jason and Nico exchanged concerned glances while Roman sat down next to her, signing,  
If this is a dream, then we must be sharing the same one. Royal stared at his hands for a moment before Will held out his,  
“Come on, the video will make things make sense. I promise,” he added when Royal didn't take his hand.  
Roman popped back up, all cheery smiles and sparkling eyes. Royal sighed and took Will's hand,  
“Into the rabbit hole we go, then.”


End file.
